King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were in Michigan yesterday to visit the largest Dutch-origin community in the USA. For this visit to the Grand Rapids area, Queen Máxima repeated the wheat gold straw hat with raised brim she wore last week in Canada. The outdoor photos taken yesterday show just how gossamer light the weave of the straw on the brim of this piece is, creating an almost halo effect around Máxima’s face.

We have seen this hat worn with this orange tunic before. While the two shades are quite complimentary, in certain lighting the hue of the tunic casts an orangey tinge to the hat. For this reason, I prefer this hat with the white dress we saw it paired with last week.

Queen Máxima has made several meaningful gestures through her fashion choices on this North American tour and the choice of orange for yesterday’s visit to this large Dutch origin community was no coincidence. What do you think of this hat paired with this ensemble?

Photos from Patrick van Katwijk, Patrick van Katwijk, Albert Van Der Werf, Patrick van Katwijk, Patrick van Katwijk and Patrick van Katwijk

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima continue their visit to North America this week with stops in several cities in the United States. For their day in Washington D.C. today, where their itinerary centred around a visit with President Obama at the White House, Queen Máxima repeated a classic black and white dress, pearls, and her black open-crowned headpiece. While I have not offered many compliments for this silk-covered piece in the past, something about its pairing with this dress and jewellery within this context (during a heatwave in a country known for informal fashion, where hats are seldom worn) somehow makes sense.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima concluded their Canadian tour in Toronto yesterday with stops at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, MaRS Discovery District hub, and Toronto Islands. Máxima chose another neutral hat for these engagements, this time in wheat gold straw and with a diagonally upturned brim. It is a rather simple hat of good proportion that became a stunner thanks to great styling with Máxima’s white dress and gold accessories (minus those dangling gold earrings next time, please).

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima continued their Canadian tour yesterday with visits to the University of Waterloo and a Dutch family-run orchid farm in Beamsville. For these events, Máxima repeated a large picture hat in natural straw. We have seen this loosely structured piece before and while it fits squarely in beach hat territory, it’s a relaxed piece that works really well for less formal engagements and I love the unstructured-ness of it. I thought this hat’s pairing today with Máxima’s green lace suit and brown leather accessories made for a well-balanced and complimentary ensemble that looked effortlessly chic.

A number of readers have voiced dislike of Queen Máxima’s large hat pins- it seems that she took your advice for this hat and left them off. Arriving for the first event of the day, however, she was caught with a gust of wind that nearly sent her hat flying. I think Máxima needs only look to her mother-in-law (or to Queen Elizabeth, the grand dame of refined hatpin use) to find a solution which will keep her hats firmly in place without looking like they have been pierced with major weapons.

Designer: Fabienne Delvigne. Her skirt and blouse is from NATAN.
Previously Worn: January 2, 2013; November 4, 2011; March 31, 2006

I thought Queen Máxima’s easy breezy straw hat was a great choice for yesterday’s visits in Southern Ontario and I loved the whole ensemble. What did you think?

Photos from Rpe/Albert Nieboer, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, Patrick van Katwijk/dpa, and Patrick van Katwijk/dpa all via Corbis

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima arrived in Canada yesterday for a week long visit. For their official welcome in Ottawa today, Queen Máxima repeated a loosely structured navy picture hat. Made of light straw that appears to be sewn together in long strips, the hat is simply trimmed in a wide swath of rough edged navy straw that lies on top of the brim.

Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images

This hat is all about texture and easy movement- the very two things that put it at complete odds with Máxima’s very structured lace covered dress and lace coat. While I love the idea of the magenta, cream and navy colour scheme of this ensemble, it completely fails due to texture overload.

Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images